30km per hour maximum speed

Today marks a decisive day in the push for 30 km/h speed limits throughout Europe. The European Parliament adopted a resolution in which it “strongly recommends the responsible authorities to introduce speed limits of 30 km/h in all residential areas and on single-lane roads in urban areas which have no separate cycle lanes. This resolution is part of a wide range of measures to halve Europe’s 31,000 annual road fatalities by 2020. The number of kids that walk or cycle to school has decreased from 82% to 14% within the last 30 years. Injuries fall by 25% when 50 km/h zones are redesigned for 30 km/h according to the Dutch research institute SWOV.  An EU-wide survey conducted in 2010 showed overwhelming support for 30 km/h zones with 78% of EU drivers citing excessive speed as a major safety concern.  The Institute of Advanced Motorists from the UK released a poll last month in which two thirds of its members supported the adoption of 20mph (32.19km/h) speed limits. As for enforcing these speed limits, the Parliament has also requested the European Commission draft a proposal and timetable to fit vehicles with “intelligent speed assistance” (ISA). Read more here.